Jay Thakkar, the Head of Human Resources at Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited, is at the forefront of innovative HR practices in the financial services sector. With a commitment to fostering an inclusive and dynamic workplace, Thakkar excels in employer branding, diversity and inclusion, employee well-being, and effective onboarding strategies. Under his leadership, Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited has achieved impressive employee satisfaction metrics and set new industry standards. Thakkar’s approach, deeply rooted in Aditya Birla Group’s values, emphasises a seamless and collaborative environment where every employee feels valued and empowered. His strategic initiatives have significantly enhanced the organisation’s reputation as a great place to work.
In this exclusive interview with All Things Talent, he shares his visionary perspectives and insights, offering a closer look at the HR practices driving Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited’s success.
How would you define employer branding in the context of Aditya Birla Housing Finance, and what key metrics do you use to measure the success of your employer branding efforts?
At Aditya Birla Capital, our mission is to ensure a consistent experience for all our customers, regardless of the product or line of business they engage with. This commitment extends to both our external and internal customers. For our external customers, our approach is encapsulated in the principles of “One Customer, One Experience, One Team.”
In 2023, we introduced a guiding philosophy for our internal customers: “Enriching Lives. Winning as ONE.” This value proposition is at the heart of our employee experience across all Aditya Birla Capital businesses, including Aditya Birla Housing Finance.
What “Enriching Lives. Winning as ONE.” entails, is clearly articulated in our Employer Brand Manifesto. It includes:
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- Include as ONE: We are People-First. We respect, welcome and celebrate diversity. We embrace and integrate new thinking.
- Learn as ONE: We are Future-First. We are consistently evolving and transforming. We expand our horizons of ideas and influences.
- Build as ONE: We create a legacy. We build each other. We collaborate to forge new paths. We make things happen with speed.
- Serve as ONE: We become leaders and role models. We are stronger together. We find new ways to contribute, to serve and grow each other, our community and our organisation.
- Win as ONE: We win when our customers, partners, community and society win. We win when we fulfil lives and contribute to the growth of the Nation and its people as ONE Force.
One of the foremost metrics to measure the effectiveness of any employer branding efforts has always been voice-of-employee surveys. At Aditya Birla Group, we concluded our very own VIBES Survey in 2023. And the results for ABHFL have been extremely heartening.
A section of the VIBES Survey is dedicated solely towards measuring the effectiveness of employer branding activities and the extent to which the employer brand resonates with the employees. In that section, ABHFL scored an overwhelming 93 out of 100. This score is a 5-point increase from the scores of the last survey. It is also better than the overall ABC Score (88 out of 100), the overall ABG score (86 out of 100), and the industry’s high-performance norms (79 out of 100).
Apart from the Employer Brand section, ABHFL also scored exceptionally well on two key statements:
- “I would recommend Aditya Birla Group as a great place to work” – scored 96 out of 100.
- “I feel proud to be an employee of Aditya Birla Group” – scored 98 out of 100.
Incidentally, a large chunk of our talent sourcing happens through employee referrals. This also validates the success of our efforts towards providing an enriching employee experience because our employees have become our biggest promoters!
Studies suggest that effective onboarding can improve employee retention (52%) and productivity (60%). How does Aditya Birla Housing Finance personalise the onboarding experience for new hires? How do you ensure that each employee feels valued and integrated into the company culture from day one?
Onboarding is a pivotal event in the lifecycle of any employee. We emphasise and enable a comprehensive orientation from day one, aligning employees with our values and individual goals. Understanding the importance of onboarding and training, particularly for sales professionals in the BFSI sector, we have designed the Functional Onboarding piece to cater to their unique needs and roadblocks by offering specialised support to help them reach targets and optimise incentives. Our customised program aims to enhance employee satisfaction and bolster retention efforts. The three-part module includes:
- HR Connect: Completed within the first 7 days of joining, this is an HRBP-led intervention covering the essentials of HR Processes and policies, ensuring a seamless integration with the ABHFL ecosystem.
- Saarthi (ABHFL’s Functional Onboarding): Completed within the first 12 days of joining, this is a Training team-led intervention covering the essentials about the team, the manager, products, incentives, growth opportunities and systems for sales force support. The employees are handheld for the next 15 days.
- Manager-led On-the-job training: Completed within the first 12 days of joining, this is a manager-led intervention with a pre-defined list of actionable that include team introductions, setting expectations and distribution plans, process training, followed by assigning a buddy to the FOS.
Between these three modules, we ensure that not only are our employees abreast of the organisation’s values, which they have a significant duty to uphold in front of the customers, but they also have the necessary support system around them which enables them to start delivering on their key performance indicators (KPI) in a short span of time.
According to a report by Great Place to Work, 1 in 4 women in the BFSI feel inconsistency in workplace equity. How does Aditya Birla Housing Finance assess the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion efforts? Could you highlight any initiatives or campaigns that help measure this impact?
A recent report titled, “Women in Leadership in Corporate India” by LinkedIn and The Quantum Hub, a New Delhi-based public policy consulting firm, has highlighted that in 2024 the representation of women in senior leadership roles, across all industries in India, is at 18.3% and around 19% in the Financial Services sector. Compared to that, ABHFL currently has 26.7% female representation in its senior leadership. This is especially significant given we are in the financial services sector where, historically, gender diversity has been modest across all levels.
Another trend across industries, historically, has been that the representation of women decreases as we move up the hierarchy. Currently, women leaders in ABHFL are handling crucial portfolios such as Head of Business Development & Distribution, Head of Products & Digital Transformation, Head of Operations & Process Excellence, Head of Customer Service, Chief Compliance Officer, and Head of Marketing, to name a few. And therein lies the success of our efforts to make ABHFL a more diverse and inclusive organisation.
Our commitment to diversity goes beyond hiring; we provide an ecosystem that supports women in realising their potential throughout their careers. Our initiatives include:
- Diversity Hiring: We partner with organisations like myAvtar and Monster.com for job fairs focused on women. We also work with specialised talent search consultants to hire diverse candidates, including returning mothers.
- Mentoring: Our flagship ABC Mentorship Program pairs high-performing women in middle and junior management with senior women leaders to facilitate career growth, learning, and professional development.
- Training: At the ABC level, we offer “Shrestha”, a program for women in junior management designed to foster essential growth behaviours like assertiveness and self-advocacy. At the ABG level, we provide the “Springboard” program for women in middle management, preparing them as potential successors for senior management roles.
- Sensitisation and Allyship: Our “Men as Allies” program educates male employees on how to support their female colleagues and promote inclusive behaviour. Additionally, the “At the Helm” program trains team leads and managers to build and nurture inclusive teams.
- Policies and Interventions: Our robust policy network includes an extended Maternity policy (now covering single fathers), a Creche and Nanny Reimbursement policy, and the “Celebrate Motherhood” program.
Through these initiatives, ABHFL not only hires diverse talent but also ensures a supportive environment where all employees can thrive and reach their full potential.
A study by Randstad found that 31% of employees in India have encountered ageism in the workplace. Given that your 2023-24 annual report indicates that 92% of Aditya Birla Housing Finance’s workforce comprises Millennials and Gen Z, how do you ensure a sense of inclusion for employees of all ages throughout the company?
At Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited, our commitment to being fundamentally people-centric is a legacy inherited from the Aditya Birla Group. A key tenet of the Group’s values is “Seamlessness” which emphasises the need to broaden our thinking and reach across age groups, hierarchies, and geographies to leverage diverse perspectives. And that culture percolates down from the leadership.
At ABHFL, we have been successful in establishing and fostering a culture where everyone feels psychologically safe and is open to sharing their thoughts irrespective of their age, tenure or seniority within the organisation.
This is again validated by our scores on three key statements in the VIBES Survey 2023:
- “Senior leaders foster open, honest communication.” – Scored 95 out of 100
- “Senior leaders are visible and accessible.” – Scored 97 out of 100
- “Good ideas are adopted here regardless of who suggests them or where they come from.” – Scored 94 out of 100
These scores are a testament to our dedication to cultivating an open, inclusive and collaborative environment where every voice is valued.
How is Aditya Birla Housing Finance addressing the growing importance of employee health and well-being in its future work strategies? What initiatives are in place to ensure that employees feel supported in these areas?
As an organisation, Aditya Birla Capital has always been at the forefront of championing employee health and well-being. From our industry-leading Group Medical Coverage and Top-Up Policy to the extensive lifestyle and well-being offerings available through the AB Multiply app at no additional cost, we ensure our employees prioritise their health.
At ABHFL, our commitment towards employee health and well-being is driven with the same fervour. In the last fiscal year, we were successful in covering more than 700 management cadre employees in Health Assessments to gauge key health indicators such as blood pressure, fasting blood sugar, BMI and LDL Cholesterol levels. Apart from this, for employees above the age of 45 years and for our senior management, we ensured coverage of comprehensive Annual Health Checkups by partnering with a leading medical service provider. All of these were done at no cost to the employees and discounted rates for their family members as well.
Our proactive approach to employee health and well-being underscores our dedication to fostering a healthy and supportive work environment.
Can you share any lessons learned or best practices from your experience that could benefit others in similar roles?
I think the biggest lesson that I have learnt is from one of my first professors in College – He mentioned, “Let the best not be the enemy of the better”. This has helped me ensure that decision-making on new initiatives is taken at a quicker speed as long as the benefits outweigh the cost of doing them. In addition, a lot of initiatives that we take in HR, especially which involve culture and people take time to show fruits, hence staying the course and not always changing course unless there is a marked difference from the strategy has helped in ensuring that the results evolve well over a period of time.
Jay Thakkar is the Head of Human Resources and Administration at Aditya Birla Housing Finance Limited, with over 16 years of experience in Compensation & Benefits, Performance Management, Talent Management, Engagement, and Talent Acquisition. He has worked across multiple industries, including consulting and financial services, and spent 13 years with the Aditya Birla Group handling multiple roles in their Shared Services arm, NBFC to the current role in Housing Finance. Jay holds an MBA with a gold medal from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune, and a Bachelor’s in Electronics Engineering from Mumbai University.
